Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Money Goals for My Financial Freedom Day

I made some money goals for my houses and 401k while I am paying off my mortgage. The house values are from Zillow.com so they aren't exactly real. The house down the street sold for only $120,000 last December. I doubt I could get $150,000 for my house right now but it is encouraging to see that Zillow thinks it is worth that much and it is nice to see home values rising.

My timeline to reach these goals is 3 years. If I pay off my mortgage before 3 years I can add more to my 401k but unless the stock market drops again my 401k will probably reach its goal without extra help. Maybe I should make my goal total $500,000 just so it is a nice even number. Can I quit my job and pursue other interests with $500,000 in savings? I think I can if I keep my housing costs low and don't get too crazy with my hobbies. It would be ideal if one of those hobbies brought in some income but I want to have enough money so that I don't have to be dependent on bringing in more income.

In other news, I decided to invest part of my savings in a fairly aggressive Vanguard mutual fund. I might use it to pay off my mortgage faster in a year or two or I might leave it in the mutual fund. It was languishing in a savings account and I thought I would risk it and see if I could do better. Now I will try not to check it everyday and worry about dips in the stock market (but it is up $95 already!). Patience and perseverance. I will reach my goals, preferably before I am too old or infirmed to enjoy life.

4 comments:

Remember, Daizy, your 401k would not be available for withdrawals until you turn 59.5 (might be 55 if you separate from service at that age). You need a lot of money outside of your 401k in non-retirement accounts in order to retire early (like I did in 2008 when I was 45). You need a strong plan to get you from your current age (41 or 42, right?) to age 59.5.

Of course, Dave. I don't plan on using my 401k before it is ripe. I have many budgets planned for my pre-retirement stage. Ideally, I will find another income producing line of work so that I don't have to use any savings at all. But if that doesn't work out, I have plans B, C, D, and F.